Adelson settles lawsuit with ex-head of China casino unit

Associated Press

Published Tuesday, May 31, 2016 | 8:38 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, May 31, 2016 | 11:53 p.m.

HONG KONG — Billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company is ending its long-running U.S. lawsuit with the former head of its Chinese division, the company said Wednesday.

Macau-based Sands China Ltd. said it has "reached a comprehensive and confidential settlement" with Steven Jacobs, the company's former CEO.

Jacobs launched a wrongful termination case in 2010, alleging that he was fired in order to cover up illegal activities committed by the company as it developed its lucrative business interests in Macau, a booming Chinese gambling enclave near Hong Kong.

Adelson's company, Las Vegas Sands Corp., owns 70 percent of Sands China, which operates four casinos in Macau, the world's top gambling market and the source of most of its revenue.

The brief announcement filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange said Jacobs dismissed all claims in Nevada state and federal court against Las Vegas Sands, Sands China and its subsidiary Venetian Macau, and Adelson.

The announcement comes after Las Vegas Sands paid $9 million in April to settle a 5-year-old investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission over improperly documented payments to a consultant it hired in 2006 who claimed to be a former Chinese government official. Sands Corp. neither admitted nor denied the SEC's findings.

Jury selection for the Jacobs case had been set to begin June 27. It had been delayed by a dozen pre-trial issues, including the company's unsuccessful attempt last month to remove the Nevada state court judge presiding from the case, with its lawyers arguing that there was a conflict of interest.